For Amuneke, a time to give back

By Ifeanyi Ibeh

Former Nigeria international player, Emmanuel Amuneke, is without a doubt one of the best footballers of his generation. With a resume that includes championship wins with the likes of Zamalek, Barcelona, and Sporting Lisbon, as well as an African Cup of Nations title and an Olympic gold medal, Amuneke is also one of the most decorated Nigerian players of all time.

He has retraced his steps back to his former club, Julius Berger, as the team's chief coach and there suddenly appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the former Nigerian champions who have been languishing in the second division for the past three seasons.

"If you have played for a club, you will always be happy to see them making progress, but it is unfortunate things started poorly for the club this season," began Amuneke in an interview with NEXTSports at Julius Berger's Euro 65 training ground. "So when I came around, the chairman [Adewale Kuti] told me of how he wanted me to become the team's coach. I knew the situation was difficult but I couldn't say no because of my love for the club."

Since rejoining the club also known as the Adewale Bridge Boys on December 29, 2008, Amuneke has been able to transform Julius Berger from National League no-hopers to promotion seekers all under the space of three weeks with wins over Prime FC and Kolu United. The 1-0 win against the latter was all the more impressive as it was achieved on away soil at the Ughelli Township Stadium in Delta State, and in a league where securing a win on the road can be likened to searching for life on Mars.

"It's normal for every team to want to win at home but the most important thing as the away team is to give your best all the time. There is no law that says you can't win when playing away from home, but most Nigerian players feel that way," continued the 1994 African Player of the Year.

"But if you do the right thing mentally, physically, and tactically, and approach the game the right way, then you've already given yourself a realistic chance of getting something out of the game."

Amuneke's arrival at Euro 65 appears to be the only noticeable change for the 1991 and 2000 League champions as there has been no modification to the playing personnel.

So what is the secret behind the team's newfound form? The 38-year-old offers an answer.

He said: "I have been working with the same players that were here, and I'm trying to get to know them better and letting them know exactly what I want from them because I really want all of them to know that they can give something to the team even if it's for five or ten minutes in a game.

I want them to feel that they are part of the project because that is the only way you can start getting results from a player. When a player feels he is part of a worthy project, he will try his best to meet up with the standard of his teammates even if the team isn't doing so well, and it gladdens me that it's working for us."

Amuneke's rise to prominence can be traced back to his Julius Berger playing days as well at the 1991 All Africa Games in Cairo, Egypt where he lit up the scene with a series of top-class displays with the Nigerian U-23 side. Although the Nigerian team eventually finished a disappointing third, Amuneke's performance in the Egyptian capital was enough to earn him a contract with Cairo-based Zamalek.

His arrival at Zamalek appeared to be the catalyst the Cairo club needed to curtail the dominance of the Egyptian football terrain by bitter rivals Al Ahly as they clinched two league and three continental titles between 1991 and 1994.

"I had a great time at Zamalek and at the end of the initial two-year deal, I signed for an additional two years but I only saw out a year before leaving for Sporting Lisbon," recalls Amuneke.

Amuneke spent two years playing under legendary English coach Bobby Robson at Sporting Lisbon and won the Portuguese Cup and Super Cup. But his time at Zamalek had already earned him a call-up to the Super Eagles, and by 1993, he made a scoring debut in the 2-0 defeat of Sudan at the National Stadium, Surulere in a Nations Cup qualifier. The final tournament in Tunisia was, however, a different kettle of fish for the then 23-year-old Amuneke as he was consigned to the Super Eagles bench by the team's handler Clemens Westerhof until the final against Zambia when the Dutchman decided to throw the winger into the fray with devastating effect.

Elijah Litana had headed the Zambians into a shock 1-0 lead three minutes after kickoff, but Amuneke reciprocated the gesture three minutes later with a header of his own. Five minutes into the second half, Amuneke latched onto a lofted 40-metre pass from Sunday Oliseh before blasting a right-foot volley past James Phiri in the Zambian goal for a 2-1 victory. What followed afterwards could be likened to the story of comic superhero Clark Kent as Amuneke metamorphosed into the Superman of Nigerian football as he led the Super Eagles to an impressive World Cup debut at USA ‘94.

In a country where the concept of football meant a bunch of testosterone-boosted men chasing after an inflated deerskin, the Super Eagles, with a forward line comprising of 1993 African player of the Year Rashidi Yekini, Daniel Amokachi, Finidi George, and Amuneke won over American hearts with a beautiful and effective brand of football that was only surpassed by eventual winners Brazil.

A 2-1 loss to eventual runners-up Italy however sent the African champions packing from the Mundial.

Amuneke's agony was however short-lived as he succeeded Yekini as Africa's Player of the Year in 1994. On November 10, 1995, the same day Ken-Saro Wiwa and a handful of his Ogoni kinsmen were executed by the military government of late General Sani Abacha, Amuneke scored Nigeria's only goal in the 1-0 defeat of Uzbekistan in the final of the Afro-Asia Cup. In 1996, he returned to the United States for that year's Olympic Games and grabbed the winning goal in Nigeria's 3-2 win over Argentina in the final. By December of 1996, Amuneke followed Robson to Barcelona and won two league titles, two King's Cup and a Spanish Super Cup.

Four years later, he joined Albacete and by 2002, he left for South Korean side Pusan Icons before heading off to Jordan a year later where he played for his last professional club Al-Wehdat.

Amuneke subsequently became a coach and got his UEFA Grade-A license in 2005 and now has his sights set on returning Julius Berger back to the pinnacle of Nigerian football

"It hasn't been easy but we still have a long way to go," continued Amuneke. "It takes a lot to be a coach because there's no guarantee of success or failure but one has to be prepared for whatever comes up. But I'm up to the task. I'm not worried about failing. The most important thing is getting the right products that are willing to do their job. I'm not going to boast that I will secure promotion for Julius Berger but time will tell how the clock ticks."

Indeed, time will determine whether Amuneke succeeds or fails with Julius Berger but for the time being, he can hold his head high for treading a path that many of his former Super Eagles buddies wouldn't dare.